Monthly Archives: June 2015

When buying a sous vide immersion circulator, Warranty and After-Sales service must be part of a global offer. The service offer can vary significantly across different Manufacturers and Resellers!

Questions to ask when purchasing an immersion circulator:

1. Who sells you the immersion circulator? A Manufacturer or a Distributor? If the seller is a Distributor, will they be able to repair the equipment themselves or does it have to be sent in to the Manufacturer and how long will it take for you to get it back? If a Manufacturer sells the sous vide device directly to you, where are they located and what will it take to organize the After-Sales Service?

2. How long is the warranty and what are the terms?

3. After the warranty period, what are the costs of a repair?

4. How fast will you get your machine back?

All these questions should be addressed and answers should be detailed.

The question of the origin of an immersion circulator is problematic: With rising popularity of sous vide cooking, many models available today are now sourced directly from OEM manufacturers in China and simply rebranded.
The companies selling these immersion circulators often do not have the knowledge nor the means to carry out a qualified repair. These so-called manufacturers have no control over the quality of the product and the manufacturing process. It is easy to identify such products on the internet.
If you see the same immersion circulator sold under different brands, be careful!

Since 6 years Addélice designs, manufactures and distributes the Swid. Addélice is a German company.

Is your reseller or distributor capable of repairing your immersion circulator? Does he have parts in stock? This point is important. Most often your distributor is a dealer only and, even though he could change a part of the device, it will be difficult for him to identify the cause or origin of the issue. Therefore, instead of replacing a cheap single electronic component, a reseller will change an expensive part (a Printed Circuit Board for example) and make a substantial margin on it.
If your reseller has to send your immersion circulator back to the manufacturer’s service center for repair, it could significantly increase the time until you get your machine back.

Addélice is the designer of Swid. We are able to immediately identify an issue and repair the Swid immersion circulator. In other words, in most cases, a simple little component will be replaced and not for example, a full Printed Circuit Board.

What is covered under the warranty? It generally covers parts and labour, excluding shipping costs. It is usually 1 year long, sometimes 2 years depending on laws in the country of origin .

Addélice is a German company that offers 2 years warranty, parts and labour. Return costs (for Europe only) are supported by Addélice.

What are the parts that can break down and how much will cost a repair out of warranty? Schematically an immersion circulator is composed of a heater element, a Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), a temperature sensor and a motor with a propeller to stir the water in the water bath. Before ordering a sous vide device it is important to know the replacement costs (parts and labour) for each of these parts.

Since April 2015, the Swid immersion circulator benefits from a platinum temperature sensor (Pt100) that is almost indestructible. The Swid sous vide cooker is a very reliable device with parts that rarely break down. Only the heater element (this is the case for any sous vide immersion circulator of the market) and the PCB can possibly break down.Changing an Addélice heater element will cost you EUR 55 excl. VAT (parts and labour). The replacement of the Swid’s PCB (Version April 2015) will cost your EUR 70 excl. VAT (parts and labor). It is rare that a Swid requires a full PCB replacement.

The waiting time for a repair is also important. Who better than the Company that has designed and manufactured your machine can inspect and repair it? In case of an issue , simply contact Addélice via the contact form on our website.
As from June 2015 your Swid benefits from a “QR code” for quick access to the Swid’s information and direct contact with Addelice’s after-sales service. Addélice will indicate the closest service center. When Addélice receives your Swid it will be inspected and repaired the same day, tested overnight and sent back to you the next day. This means that you will be missing your Swid for about a week (if located in the EU).

Also think about custom and VAT issues when you have to ship your machine back to the country of origin (the USA for example)!

Should you have any questions about the warranty and Addelice’s after-sales service do not hesitate to contact us via this contact form.

As of June 2015 Swid Immersion Circulators come with a new label containing a “QR Code“.

For those who do not yet know this black and white checkerboard, the QR code allows anyone with a smartphone and a corresponding application (eg Unitag …) to scan the pattern in order to transfer the encoded contact information directly to your phone.

What is the advantage of having a QR Code on your Swid?
This allows you to easily be in direct contact with Addélice, in case you need to:

check the technical specifications of your Swid

contact Addélice’s Custome Service Center

consult the Swid Quick Start Guide or simply obtain a fast answer on how to switch the Swid from °F to °C for example

buy a new Swid or another Addélice product

After scanning the QR code you will be taken directly to an internet site specifically tailored to your smartphone. It is particularly concise and readable.

The Addélice Team is always there to answer all your requests and questions. We will reply within 24 hours.